LA JOLLA, Calif. — This weekend, the 14th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team joins a majority of the nation's top squads at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational, hosted by No. 3 Stanford Sept. 23-25 at Avery Aquatic Center.

Joining the Tritons and Cardinal are No. 1 Cal, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Pacific, No. 5 USC, No. 6 UC Davis, No. 7 Long Beach State, No. 8 UC Santa Barbara, No. 9 San Jose State, No. 10 Loyola Marymount, No. 11 Pepperdine, No. 13 UC Irvine, No. 16 Fordham, Pomona-Pitzer, and Santa Clara. 

UC San Diego opens play against Pacific on Friday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since Sept. 22, 2017.

Ensuing match-ups will be determined by results from other games.  

Already this season, the Tritons have played against Cal, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara (twice), Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, and UC Irvine.

UC San Diego competed at the MPSF Invitational in 2021, going 2-2 with wins against Loyola Marymount and UC Irvine and losses against San Jose State and UC Davis.

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THIS WEEK'S ACTION
Game 11 - Non-Conference Match
No. 14 UC San Diego (3-7) vs. No. 4 Pacific (10-1)
Friday, Sept. 23 | 6:00 p.m.
Avery Aquatic Center | Stanford, Calif. | Map
Live Stats | Live Video | Tickets | Tournament Central
Twitter | Instagram
All-Time Series: UC San Diego leads 12-10

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ABOUT THE UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS
Roster | Schedule & Results | Statistics
• Overall: 3-7
• WWPA: 2-0
• Home: 1-5
• Away: 2-2
• Neutral: 0-0
• Streak: L2
• vs. Nationally-Ranked Teams: 0-7
• CWPA national ranking: 14
• WWPA Preseason Poll: 2nd of 9

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ABOUT THE PACIFIC TIGERS
Roster | Schedule & Results | Statistics
• Overall: 10-1
• GCC: 0-0
• Home: 1-0
• Away: 1-1
• Neutral: 8-0
• Streak: W5
• vs. Nationally-Ranked Teams: 8-0
• CWPA national ranking: 4
• GCC Preseason Poll: 1st of 6

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LATKOVIC THE LEADER
Senior Vedran Latkovic currently leads the Tritons in point production with 34 on 26 goals and 8 assists. His goal total is also tops on the team. The Montenegran has scored a goal in eight of 10 matches and has netted no fewer than two scores in those games. His six goals against UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 4 equaled his single-game career-high (9/26/21 at San Jose State). 

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RHYS THE BEAST
Sophomore Rhys Bugelli has started off strong this season. He enters the tournament with 29 points (23 goals and 6 assists), five points behind team leader Vedran Latkovic. Bugelli is the lone Triton to have netted at least one goal in all 10 games in 2022. In fact, he has finished with multiple goals in six of 10 games, including a career-best five at top-ranked Cal on Sept. 10.

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KADEN WILL HELP
With four assists in Wednesday's game against LMU, Kaden Likins took over the team lead with 15. Those four helpers established a new single-game career-high for the junior.

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A QUICK GLANCE AT THE 2021 TRITONS
In 2021, UC San Diego posted a 14-10 overall record and went 6-2 in WWPA play. Ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation, the Tritons earned seven victories over other ranked teams including No. 5 Pepperdine, No. 9 UC Davis, No. 13 UC Irvine, No. 17 Loyola Marymount (twice), No. 18 California Baptist, and No. 20 Santa Clara. The team won its first match at the WWPA Championships, defeating Concordia 21-7, before falling to California Baptist and Loyola Marymount to end its season.

The Tritons return several key players in 2022 including senior Vedran Latkovic, who led the team in point production with 69 on 53 goals and 16 assists. He netted at least one goal in 21 of 24 games played with one of his biggest coming with 12 seconds left on the clock to lift the Tritons to a 14-13 win against Loyola Marymount at home. Also back in the pool will be junior Kaden Likins, who tied for second on the team with his 59 points. Likins scored 33 goals while dishing out 26 assists, which tied for the most helpers on the team. Senior Manuel Augusto (31 goals, 55 points) and sophomore Miles Wilson (29 goals, 55 points) return, as does junior goalkeeper Alexander Nemeth, who posted a 13-8 record and led UC San Diego defensively with 22 steals.

Latkovic and Nemeth were selected to the All-WWPA Second Team while Likins was an All-WWPA Honorable Mention. Wilson was named to the WWPA All-Freshman Team.

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THEY CALL HIM USHA
UC San Diego is led by first-year head coach Matt "Usha" Ustaszewski, who took over for Denny Harper as he announced his retirement in July after 42 years at the helm.

Ustaszewski earned his first victory as UC San Diego's head coach on Sept. 3, 2022, as the Tritons defeated La Verne, 22-8, in the team's season opener during the Triton Invitational. 

In 2021, Ustaszewski completed his ninth season as associate head coach and 12th season overall on the UC San Diego men's water polo staff.

Usha is no stranger to the La Jolla campus. He was a co-captain of the fifth-ranked Triton water polo team as a senior in 2003 for under the tutelage of Harper. He graduated in 2004, completing his bachelor's degree in history (Europe emphasis) with a 3.5 grade-point average.

He also has extensive experience with Team USA. As an assistant coach in the summer of 2022, he helped the Men's National Team finish sixth at the FINA World Championships in Hungary. Team USA went 2-2 overall, which included a 16-15 penalty shootout victory against Hungary.Also during the summer of 2022, Ustaszewski was with Team USA when it won a silver medal at the FINA World League Super Final in France.

Ustaszewski served as the video coach for Team USA at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

For Usha's complete bio, click here.

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MOMDZHYAN BACK ON THE DECK
Former UC San Diego men's water polo standout Arman Momdzhyan has returned to the program this season as an assistant coach. 

Momdzhyan played for UC San Diego for two seasons after transferring from Los Angeles Valley College. He was named the Association of Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) NCAA Division II Player of the Year in both 2016 and 2017. Momdzhyan also earned ACWPC All-America Division II First Team as well as All-Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) First Team accolades in each of his seasons with the Tritons. Over 43 career games, he scored 98 goals and added 16 assists for 114 points. His 44 goals in 2016 led the team and his 54 goals in 2017 were second on the Triton roster. Momdzhyan led UC San Diego to back-to-back WWPA titles and a No. 9 national ranking.

The Glendale, Calif., native graduated from UC San Diego in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in human developmental sciences. He earned a master's in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific.

For Momdzyhan's complete bio, click here.

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BUGELLI EARNS UNIVERSITY CREDIT UNION PLAYER OF THE WEEK
On Monday, Sept. 5, sophomore Rhys Bugelli was named the University Credit Union Player of the Week for his performance during the Triton Invitational in La Jolla. Over four games, Bugelli accumulated 14 points on 10 goals and 4 assists. He netted at least one goal in every game and scored multiple goals in three of four. Against 10^th-ranked Pepperdine, Bugelli totaled six points on four goals and a pair of assists. Those point and goal totals were both career-bests. In action against No. 8 UC Santa Barbara, he scored another hat trick to go along with an assist.

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FINAL HURRAH IN THE WWPA
This will be UC San Diego's final season as a member of the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The Tritons will join The Big West when the conference begins sponsoring the sport in 2023. The team has enjoyed great success in the WWPA, winning 19 conference titles.

Expected to join the Tritons next season in The Big West are Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara. In addition, Cal State Fullerton announced that it will be adding men's and women's water polo in 2023. The Titans will give the league six teams, the minimum required to create a conference that can qualify for an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.

The addition of men's water polo will give UC San Diego 17 teams competing in The Big West - baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's volleyball, and men's and women's water polo. The UC San Diego women's water polo team has been in The Big West since 2020.

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2022 WWPA PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Rank	Team	Points	1st-Place Votes	2021 Records
1	UC Davis	64	8	19-9/7-1
2	UC San Diego	53	1	14-10/6-2
3	California Baptist	49	-	20-14/6-2
4	Loyola Marymount	48	-	12-14/6-2
5	Santa Clara	33	-	13-16/2-6
6	Air Force	32	-	17-9/5-3
7	Concordia	21	-	9-17/2-6
8	Fresno Pacific	14	-	7-22/2-6
9	Biola	10	-	3-22/0-8

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CWPA NATIONAL POLL (Sept. 21)
Rank	Team	Previous Poll
1	California	1
2	UCLA	2
3	Stanford	4
4	Pacific	5
5	USC	3
6	UC Davis	6
7	Long Beach State	7
8	UC Santa Barbara	8
9	San Jose State	10
10	Loyola Marymount	15
11	Pepperdine	9
12	Harvard	14
13	UC Irvine	12
14	UC San Diego	13
15	Princeton	11
16 (T)	California Baptist	16
16 (T)	Fordham	17
18 (T)	Brown	18
18 (T)	St. Francis College Brooklyn	19
20	George Washington	RV

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GAME DAY GOES WITH YOU
Triton fans now have a whole new way to access game day information, as game programs have gone digital! Fans can visit Game Day from their smart phone or scan the QR code at the entrance to Canyonview Aquatic Center for everything they need to know about each home game, including updated rosters, schedules, and stats for each team, as well as links to watch games live.

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WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.

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UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department during its transition to NCAA Division I. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter @Tritoncast. 

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GET SOCIAL WITH MEN'S WATER POLO
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdmwp.

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FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!

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GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.